


The Search for Companionship

by Pandar_Bear



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Swapfell (Undertale), Manipulation, Multi, Reader is naive, reader is clueless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:36:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25678978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandar_Bear/pseuds/Pandar_Bear
Summary: Long after the war against humans has ended, you are the last monster on the surface, an omega skeleton monster. Feeling lonelier than ever, you search for the fabled Mt. Ebott where all the other monsters are rumored to be trapped under. You're able to find it as well as the other monsters, but it's not exactly as you imagined. With lies and threat of death left and right, you're not really sure who to trust. Maybe you can find safety in the those two other skeletons...
Relationships: Asgore/Toriel, Flowey is your new best bud, I'm indecisive and can't decide which, It could be both - Relationship, It may also be a reader/papyrus, More will be added as they appear in the story, Most relationships are just referenced to, Okay okay I admit it, This is gonna turn into a reader/sans
Comments: 5
Kudos: 48





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, wrote this after playing with the idea in my head for a while. Hope y'all enjoy.

In a world of humans, there was no place for a monster. All monsters had been banished deep below Mt. Ebott long before you were even born. Their entire history, the peace, the uprising, and the war, had been purged from the human history books. All traces of monsters above ground was gone and banished with the species. Well, that was all traces except for you. 

Your parents narrowly escaped banishment and the following massacres of any monsters found above ground after the war. They were able to find their own peace in a small cabin tucked deep in the woods. It was far from any civilization and safe from humans' prying eyes. You never found out how long your parents lived in that cabin, in your home, until they had you. The issue was, your mother and father were both betas while you turned out to be an omega. Betas were known for their weakness in both magic and physical strength. Omegas were known for their immense magical abilities but extremely poor physical strength. Since both of your parents were betas, they did not have enough magic to supply to you while keeping themselves healthy during your mother's pregnancy. Even though you were skeletons monsters, a type of boss monster, your parents didn't have quite enough magic for you. Because of this, your mother died during your birth.

That left you and your father all alone in the woods. It was okay though. As far back as you could remember, your father was a happy man. He always talked about your mother and how glad she would have been to see that you were a strong and healthy child. Your childhood was a time of joy and serenity. Your father and you had a distinct pattern you would follow every day, and you could remember it well. You would both go out and hunt, come home and eat, practice magic, and then prepare for bed. It was a simple time, and you would have been happy if it had lasted an eternity. However, like all good things, this time of peace came to an end. Your father was dusted. 

If it hadn't been for your rank as an omega, giving you strong magic, you would have been dusted with him. After that, you no longer knew what to do with yourself. You tried to carry on the daily pattern that he taught you, but it was too hard without him. Unable to handle the crushing loneliness of the woods, you decided to set out on a journey. You were going to find the other monsters. You had nothing to follow but the old stories your father used to tell you. It was by no means a safe journey, but eventually, you had made it to the fabled Mt. Ebott. That brings you to the present...

You let out a small huff and pushed the hood concealing your skeletal figure away from your head. Your gloved hand returned to your forehead, and when you pulled it away, it was covered in green-tinted sweat. Traveling up the mountain was by no means easy, but you had no other choice. From everything you heard and knew, this was the mountain that the other monsters had been banished under so long ago. You had been traversing it for a few days, but so far, you couldn't find any sign of them.

Your olive green eye lights flicked up to the darkening sky. The mountain hid nearly the entire sun from view now. Shadows of trees slowly stretched farther and farther as the sun dipped lower. An annoyed grimace crossed your face at the arrival of dusk. It meant you'd have to set up camp and pause your search until sunrise. You were so tired of the desolate nights where there was no company except for the wildlife of the forest. You needed to find the other monsters soon. To be truthful, you didn't even know if you would be able to reach them. You only had the hope that you would. You would die searching or find them. Anything had to be better than this crushing loneliness.

As you began to search for a place to rest for the evening, your eyes landed on a small cave in the mountain's side. "Better than sleeping in the forest," you mumbled to yourself while moving towards it. Once you had made your way into it, you made quick work of dumping your supplies out of your backpack and creating a small campsite. You took a small moment to appraise your campgrounds. 

The cave was nearly pitch black, save for the dimming light near the entrance. However, your eye lights provided light to any areas where it did not exist. As the cave deepened, stalactites and stalagmites began to appear of the cave ceiling and floor. The passage of the cave seemed to narrow considerably as well. You noticed the flutter of small wings as your magic lit up the dark, assumably annoying the cave's inhabitants. You wondered where the cave might lead but decided against exploring it, for now at least. Your body was weary from the long day of searching the mountain, and you could desperately use some sleep.

Once you were done observing your surroundings, you happily tucked yourself into your sleeping bag. It was a homemade thing, a hodgepodge of different furs and hides, but it was warm and soft. That was all you could hope for in a sleeping bag. As a finishing touch to your sleeping spot, you summoned a green-colored bubble shield to protect you from the outside world. You allowed your magic to flow into it until it was strong enough to last through the night. Once you deemed it to be finished, you fully snuggled into the bag the circled you. It was not long before you drifted off to sleep.

You awoke with a small jump and were slightly confused as to why. You couldn't remember your dreams, but you supposed it could have been that. Taking a glance outside, it was still pitch black. The sun was not at fault. You were about to take a second try at sleeping when an odd buzzing filled your senses. It was subtle, but it was there none the less. Your vision seemed to blur slightly as if it was affected by the odd sound. You placed your hand onto the ground but felt no vibration coming from it. If it wasn't some small tremor of the earth, then what was it?

You stood from your spot in an attempt to track the sound. It seemed to be coming from deeper within the cave. Your eyes were still full of sleep, but your curiosity got the best of you. The shield protecting you disappeared as your skeletal hand pressed against it. Once it was deactivated, you pressed further into the cave.

As the passages grew slimmer, you found yourself pulling your hood further down your face. It was a nervous habit, one that provided a feeling of security. It began as a means to hide your skeletal form from the humans but eventually evolved into a way to fidget. The loud sound of wings flapping suddenly covered the buzzing. It was quickly growing closer, and once it was nearly on you, you forced your body close to the ground. You barely had time to force a shaky breath out before the sound passed over you, bringing wind with it. A few minutes passed before you allowed yourself to stand erect again. You glanced around nervously to make sure the creatures had completely left before continuing deeper.

It was then that you noticed the buzzing had stopped. The bats had served to distract from the sound, so you had no idea quite when it ended. You were still far too curious to give up now, despite the way your hands shook slightly. It was just too odd an occurrence to ignore. What if it was somehow connected to the monsters trapped under the mountain? You had to find out.

The farther you traveled in the passage, the narrower it got. The walls were squeezing tight on both your left and right so much that you had to turn sideways. Just when you were sure there was no longer room to continue, the passage widened into a large opening. You stopped cautiously before stepping into it. Even with the light given off by your eyes, you couldn't see what might lie before you. The area was pitch black whenever you looked forward. It was as if some void of darkness was eating any light sent into it.

You decided to test the waters further by sending a simple attack into the darkness. It was just a simple bullet that any baby bones could have managed, but it provided a small glow. Hopefully, it might shed some light on the odd area. The bullet traveled a few feet in front of you before hitting some invisible barrier. The barrier then lurched to life on the defensive, and the entire area became blindingly bright. The buzzing from earlier resumed, only it was much louder this time. You covered holes in your skull that functioned as ears and collapsed to the ground. 

The buzzing and the light completely filled your senses. You couldn't think; you couldn't feel. It was all just some odd static. Then, as suddenly as the barrier cam to life, it calmed down. The buzzing gave out, and the light dimmed until it was gone. The area was void again. 

"Is this the barrier?!" You whispered to yourself while shaking in both excitement and fear. You _needed_ to continue. Ignoring the terrible shaking in your small form, you cautiously reached a gloved hand forward from your spot on the ground. It pressed into the area where the barrier appeared earlier. You expected a surge of energy. You expected some type of pain. What you didn't expect was when your hand met with absolutely nothing. You scooted forward slightly, now probing the dark with both hands. Still, nothing was there. 

"What?" Your voice trembled slightly while you pressed forward more. Just a little farther. You inched closer and closer to where the barrier once stood. Your knees dangled over the precarious hole while you kneeled forward. You carefully balanced your weight as not to fall. However, it seemed the ground had other plans. Almost in slow motion, the dirt holding you up gave way. Before you knew what was happening, you were careening into the darkness. The odd void seemed to even swallow the sounds of your screams as you tumbled down.

A soft tickling on your face was the first thing you felt. You sucked in a small breath as you awoke. You expected pain to blossom in all your limbs as you remembered the earlier events. You laid there in wait. Your cape easily covered your small body, and it's hood covered your head. You considered the sensation of it laying against you, and then of the soft blanketing beneath you. There was no pain, which confused you immensely.

Slowly, you brought yourself into an upright position. Some irrational thought told you that opening your eyes would bring on reality, that it would bring on the pain you should be feeling. So, your eyes remained clamped shut. You brought yourself into a sitting position and carefully tucked your cape around your body while your hood remained over your skull. After a few deep breathes, you coaxed yourself into opening your eyes. 

A soft glow filled the area that you found yourself in. Vines covered dirt walls that continued upwards as far as the eye could see. The ground you sat on was covered in golden flowers. You felt a little bad when you realized that some had been squished to the ground when you fell on top of them. Next, you noticed whatever cavern you landed in seemed to continue through a large archway.

At some point in the past, the archway would have been a marvel. It would have stood out a starch white against its surroundings, a piece of art in itself with intricate carvings. Now, it was dusted in a brown color similar to the dirt around it. The carvings in its side were weathered a dulled until they were no more than slight dips and cracks in its surface.

Hope blossomed from your soul as you recognized the Delta-rune symbol on the top of the exit. It was hardly there, weathered away like much of the other carvings, but it was unmistakable once you noticed it. If the Delta-rune was here, then could this be where all the surviving monsters were?

Your earlier fear from the fall was completely forgotten as you jumped up and sprinted through the archway. As you rushed through it, the sent of another monster hit your nose. It was odd though. You couldn't quite assign a rank to it, making it unclear whether the nearby monster was an omega, beta, or alpha. A small cloud of dust kicked up as you dug your feet into the ground to stop yourself.

"Hello?" You questioned the cavern nervously. A gloved hand came up to tug at your hood while you observed your surroundings. All that was there were the surrounding dirt walls, a flower, and another passage. "Is someone else here?" You called out again, caution lacing your voice. You had quite literally never spoken to another person except for your father, and for some time, you haven't even been able to speak with him. The idea of interaction brought you hope, but it also brought the fear of the unknown.

Slowly, the lone flower turned around to you, revealing a face and a grimace surrounded by soft petals. The flower considered you for a long time before finally speaking back. "Did you just fall down here?" The flower seemed to remain guarded as it questioned you.

"I did," you answered back. The earlier nervousness in you escaped once more while you quickly chirped back, "You're a monster too, right?!" You knew it! You did find the other monsters! You were glad for the newfound company. Your gloved hand fell away from your hood, allowing it to slide upwards slightly and revealing your skeletal face. The flower's eyes widened for a split second and fear seemed to fill them. It coward down slightly and looked like it was about to flee.

"Wait!" You called the flower. "I'm not going to hurt you or anything," you reassured the flower. _Please don't leave me,_ your mind supplied. It seemed to calm down considerably but was still more fearful than before. "My name is Y/N, but I really only get called Tiny." It was the nickname your father always called you. According to him, you were very small for a skeleton monster, but you figured it was due to the fact you were an omega, physically weak and all that.

"I guess you could say I'm a monster," the flower finally answered back. You couldn't help but think his wording was unnecessarily cryptic but decided to ignore it. "I'm Flowey," it added on as more of an afterthought.

"Nice to meet you Flowey!" A bright smile formed on your malleable bone lips. "I feel this may be a little bit of a stupid question, but is this where all the other monsters are trapped?" Your voice turned quieter in consideration of Flowey's jumpiness.

"It is," he answered equally quiet. He seemed at a loss of what to say to you. You opened your mouth to ask more questions, but he spoke back up. "Listen, I don't mean to kill the mood." His words turned into a sarcastic mumble in the next part. "Which, I don't understand why your so happy considering that you're trapped down here with the rest of us now." He then regained his earlier volume and urgency combined with his voice. "But, it's not safe to stay here. Down here, it's kill or be killed. A very strong monster will be here soon. He checks this area regularly. You need to hide while he passes through. I'll talk to you more once-" A strong scent filled the air. The scent was of cinnamon and baked goods, a rather comforting smell. Whoever was coming seemed to be an alpha. The flower let out a small curse at the interruption. "Listen to me kid, you need to hide!"

"But-" You started to question the other monster, but he was quick to cut you off.

"No 'buts'! Kid, whatever happy place you were hoping for the underground to be, it's not that! When that monster comes in here, he'll dust you on the spot, no questions asked! He only lets extremely weak monsters live here in the ruins! Not some boss monster like you!" The flower hissed out as the scent grew stronger with the other monster's approach. The flower seemed to grow more irate as you just stared at him skeptically. "Oh, for the love of-" He growled out while wrapping vines around your wrists. Before you knew what was happening, you were tugged forward behind the only cover in the room, the archway that the monster would be coming through. "I don't even know why I'm helping you," Flower whispered out with a huff to follow. He kept you firmly held in place with his vines. Within seconds of his little stunt, a monster appeared through the opening in the wall with his back turned to the two of you.

The first thing you took notice of was the goat monster's stature. He had to be at the very least two feet taller than you, and that was ignoring the extra height his horns gave him. He had creamy white fur. It seemed to have the potential to be soft and fluffy but was currently oily and yellowish in tint. His paws were grey and dusty looking, sending a small shiver down your spine at the implications. He had sharp claws and even sharper horns. The only kempt part of his appearance was his clothes. He wore a soft-looking cloak, similar to your own. It was dark black with gold lining the hem. You wished to see his face, but it was impossible to the way he was positioned. He stopped and tilted his head upwards slightly. He appeared to be sniffing the air. There was no way he didn't smell you. Afterall, omegas had the strongest scents.

Your eyes lingered on his dust-covered paws. As much as you didn't want to believe Flowey, the evidence was there clear as day. Your trembling hands wrapped around the vines that covered them in search of reassurance. You may have been imagining it, but the vines seemed to tighten back just slightly. The goat monster stopped sniffing the air, seemingly satisfied, and continued deeper into the cave.

"Okay, let's hurry and leave. He'll see us when he comes back if we don't." Flowey began to drag you along once again. The two of you rushed through two rooms that seemed to contain puzzles. Conveniently enough, the puzzles were already solved, which allowed both of you to rush through. You next passed through a room with a training dummy in it. You almost felt bad for the thing. It seemed to have taken quite the beating in its life. One of its button eyes hung on only by a single, dangling string. It was torn in places, allowing stuffing to escape its soft body. It was then that you smelled a very subtle scent coming from it, indicating the possession of a soul. 

"Wait!" You yanked roughly on the vines that pulled you forward in an attempt to stay by the training dummy monster. Flowey looked back at you with an annoyed grimace. 

"What do you mean wait?! Asgore will be back here before long!" He tried to tug you forward again, but you were able to repel his vines by forming a small shield around your hands.

"That thing is alive, and it looks hurt!" You took a moment to consider the entrance you came through. The goat monster, or Asgore as Flowey called him, didn't seem to be near quite yet. You closed the distance between yourself and the dummy monster. After placing a gloved hand over its chest, a green light filled the room, an indication of your healing magic.

"It was Tiny, right?" Flowey confirmed your name with a grumble. "Well Tiny, if Asgore finds us, we'll be more hurt than that thing!" His words carried a bark, but there seemed to be no actual bite in them. If anything, he seemed to be admiring your actions.

"Just one more moment." Before too much longer, the glow dissipated. What was left was a pristine looking dummy. Even more interesting, it's sewn mouth seemed to twist up in a smile now.

"Okay, let's get going again." When the flower took off, he latched onto your wrists once more.

"Where are we even heading?" You questioned the flower while carrying on at a brisk pace.

"We're just going until there's a detour in the path for us to hide in. Then, Asgore can pass by without noticing us, and we'll be fine." As the two of you carried on, he led you through another puzzle with ease. This one seemed a bit more deadly than the last few. It was a bridge of spikes. In certain areas, the spikes seemed to be covered in layers of dust, whereas other spots were completely clean. Flowey led you through a path on it that followed the clean spikes specifically. Whenever you would approach the safe way, the spike would simply lower and stay down harmlessly. You shuttered at the thought of all the monsters that must have perished in revealing the safe path. You noticed the mingling of many scents as you exited the deadly puzzle. It seemed that many monsters existed past this area. You were nothing but excited about this.

You passed through a long corridor until the path finally split. One way seemed to continue forward, while the other led to a small room with a pedestal in the center of it. "Alright, if we stay in there, he'll hopefully just pass by." The flower seemed to calm down when he was fully in the room with the pedestal. You gave him a curious look while the two of you rested. Why was he helping you, anyway?

"If this place is as 'kill or be killed' as you say it is, why save me?" You were blunt with your question. Flowey returned your look with similar confusion.

"You and me both want the answer to that," he remarked dryly. "But actually, probably just because you didn't seem like a bad person. The underground could use some more people who aren't bad."

"So what if I'm not a bad person? That doesn't necessarily mean I'm a good person either," you pointed out this to Flowey with a challenging smirk.

"Well first off, I just said the underground needed more people who aren't bad. It'd be great if we could get more good people, but neutral people will do too." Flowey rolled his eyes at you. "Second off, you wasted valuable time just to heal some random monster. I'm pretty sure you are a good person."

"Aww, you flatter me so," you snickered slightly at Flowey's response. "But anyway, can you answer some questions now? I'm kind of curious about everything down here." Flowey squinted his eyes in consideration.

"Yeah, why not? We've gotta shut up once Asgore gets nearby again, though." You brought your hands together in glee accompanied by a happy smile.

"Sounds good to me!" Anticipation entered your voice. "Just how many monsters are down here? Ooh wait, speaking of down here, how big is 'down here?' Are the monsters all spread out or do they all live in one big city? Why is it kill or be killed? I thought-"

"I meant one question at a time!" Flowey let out an exasperated sigh. "Choose just one question, and we'll start there." You gave him a comically serious nod and considered your question.

"Hmm, okay! Let's start with this one. Why is it kill or be killed? I thought the monsters got along relatively well together?" You remembered back to the stories your father used to tell you about when he and your mother lived with other monsters. There were occasional disputes, but he never mentioned anything close to 'kill or be killed.'

"That's kind of a loaded question. I guess it sorta started when monsters were first trapped underground. There was a lot of dispute, blame was thrown, people got angry, but it calmed down after the first few years. When it really got bad was when the king and queen split." 

"Why'd they split?" You felt like you were being a little nosy, but your inquisitive nature overrode your common decency.

"Their kids died. After that, the queen declared that any human to fall down here would be killed, and their soul harvested," Flowey's tone was rather nonchalant for the heavy material he was discussing. "The king couldn't stand the possibility of some innocent kid falling down and getting killed, so he came here to the ruins to protect any humans that fell." Your eye lights widened at Flowey's implications.

"Wait, so the king is here in the ruins? Like currently?" Your eyes scanned the area around you like just mentioning this king would summon him.

"Who do you think that big scary monster we're running from is?" Flowey looked at you completely unimpressed. 

"Oh," you responded dumbly, to which Flowey parroted you with a sarcastic, "Yeah, oh."

"Okay, okay. Next," you progressed your line of questioning with enthusiasm. "How many monsters are down here?"

"Mmm, hard to say," Flowey admitted. "On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being just us two and 10 being all the stars in the sky," Flowey paused a moment to cringe at his own wording. "I'd say probably like 5."

"Considering you don't even know the extent of your own scale, I don't think that answers my question," you stifled a giggle at Flowey's response.

"Sue me, I don't know. There's not a ton of us, but there's also not _not_ a ton of us." Flowey seemed fed up. "That answer your question?!" 

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make fun." You looked guiltily to the ground with a mumble. "We can just move on." Your curiosity was quick to return. You prepared to ask your next question when Flowey spoke up first.

"Actually, I want to ask a question. You're not from around here, are you? Like, you actually are from the surface, right?" He looked at you like you were something impressive.

"Mhm, I am. I thought I already told you?" He nodded to your question.

"You did, I just didn't believe you at the time." You quirked a brow at his honesty.

"Gee, thanks," you retorted in sarcasm. Flowey mumbled something back that you didn't quite catch. Before you got the chance to ask what he said, a vine shot over your mouth effectively quieting you. Your panicked gaze turned back to the flower, only for him to stare off at the entrance of the room. Your eyes followed his. Soon, you saw what he was staring at. Just beyond the entrance, stood Asgore. He appeared to be crouched down talking to a smaller frog monster. He was facing towards you both, which allowed you to finally catch a glimpse of his front side.

Below his dark cape, he wore an equally dark tunic with a red embroidered Delta-rune in the center of it. He wore loose-fitting, long pants that matched in color with the Delta-rune. His eyes were no more than red slits surrounded by black where white should have been. Below his eyes were deep bags with a purple-red tint. Taking it all in, he appeared to have not gotten a good night's rest many days over. While he spoke, you were able to steal small looks as his pointed, shark-like teeth. Despite his intimidating appearance, the frog monster did not seem the least bit scared. One could even interpret his expression to be of relief. Completely lost in the details of the former king's appearance, you nearly missed when he looked directly towards where you and Flowey hid in the dark. 

Flowey grunted at Asgore's glance. You were both hidden well in the cover of darkness, but it was plain as day that he suspected someone to be there. His piercing eyes were quick to turn back down to the monster he spoke to, and a moment later, he gave the frog a pat on the head with a reassuring smile.

"Shit, that froggit must've ratted us out!" Flowey hissed into your ear. You made a conscious effort to dim your eye lights even more than previously, making them nearly disappear beneath the shadow of your hood. Your hand shot up and tugged the hood further down to completely hide your face from view. Adversely, this action inconveniently blocked the majority of your view. 

"Listen carefully kid, he looks like he's about to walk in here. I have to go. If he sees me he will try to kill us both in anger." You wanted to ask Flowey why his presence would invoke such a response, but this was not the time. "I'm going to have to leave you. Don't act brave. Act scared and confused. You want him to think your some weak little monster, okay? If you can avoid it, try not to let him even see what type of monster you are. He may think you're too strong if he sees that you're a boss monster." Flowey whispered his rushed instructions into your ear he ended with, "good luck," before his presence disappeared completely. Not long after your only companion vanished, you heard footsteps enter your hideaway. 

You never thought of yourself as the bravest soul, but there was still a part of you that wanted to jump up in defense with a puffed-out chest. You wanted to greet Agsore confidently and pretend you weren't afraid. It just felt more natural to you when compared with staying cowardly crouched. However, Flowey had given you no reason so far to doubt him. Following his instructions, you flattened your small form against the wall and kept your skeletal body carefully hidden away by your cloak. You completely blackened out your eye lights to keep them from showing your face, and your gloved hand harshly tugged down on your hood. Despite your wish to be brave, you didn't have to fake the shaking that came along with the approaching encounter.


	2. A New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Asgore and befriend him despite Flowey's warnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... When I said updates were going to be sporadic, I meant it. But actually, sorry it took so long for this chapter to get out. Hope you guys enjoy!

You crouched behind the cover of darkness in tense silence. The complete eclipse of sight provided by your hood didn't help your growing stress. You were lost in your world that dwelled in the shadow. His soft, slow steps starkly contrasted the erratic hammering of your soul. This felt nothing like what you were used to. Before coming down here, you would blend in with the human crowds by simply walking confidently with your hood up. You hid in plain sight and were able to do it well. Now, you had to cower behind the velvety curtain of darkness while feeling nothing but uncertainty. Admittedly, acting the part affected your psyche. Unlike in the human crowds, you felt the opposite of confidence. You felt jumpy and nervous.

You were able to estimate his distance by the closeness of his footsteps. When he seemed to be roughly three feet away, he suddenly stopped. Your breathing hitched in anticipation of his next actions. "Hello," a full-toned voice called out to you. For the moment, he seemed to be at ease. You could have sworn that his voice even had a comforting lilt to it. "I am truly sorry if I've frightened you. I swear that I have not meant to." You forced yourself out of your hood and looked up towards the King. You kept your eye lights extinguished so that your face wouldn't be easily visible.

In front of you, the King sat on his knees. He attempted to hunch his back over. You deduced that he was trying to make his form smaller and unassuming. His dark cloak gathered on the ground around him creating small ripples of black over the ground. Maybe Flowey was wrong? Maybe the King wasn't to be feared? In a final act of judgment, you looked back to his paws. You remembered that they looked disturbingly dusty earlier. However, they lacked any incriminating hints of that now. They looked yellow and oily like the rest of his fur but certainly not dusty. You brushed those concerns away. It must have been your imagination.

"Hello," you spoke tersely, breaking the silence. Your voice came out light and airy, contrasting his deep and full one. "I didn't want to be afraid," you began to explain. "It wasn't your fault." You felt like your speech was inadequate and informal compared to his. "I was told that you would be much more..." You froze for lack of words. "Scary?" You finished with uncertainty. A booming laugh escaped the goat monster.

"Am I not as frightening as you were told?" Mirth filled his crinkled eyes as his laughing quieted.

"Well, I can't say for sure, but I don't think so. A friend of mine told me not to trust you though," you were honest in your phrasing. You were never one to beat around the bush. The King seemed to appreciate that if the upturning of his smile was anything to go by. You took his jovial mood as an opportunity to stand to your full height. Granted, it wasn't much, but at least you wouldn't be crouching over anymore. You knew Flowey said to act small and afraid, but that was just proving to be too much effort. "It's nice to meet you." You gave him your name in introduction.

"A pleasure to meet you as well. You can call me Asgore." As your timid act disappeared, Asgore too seemed to grow more confident that you wouldn't run away. He stood up from his spot on the ground and looked down at you while speaking. "Regarding your friend, each person is allotted their own opinion, but I am not sure why he thinks that. I have been known to be threatening, but only to bad people who do bad things." As friendly as he seemed, his eyes squinted ever so slightly, and his smile broke. You could tell that was meant to be a warning. "May I ask of your friend's identity?"

"He told me to call him-" You were about to say then realized the mistake you almost made. If Flowey was being truthful, you didn't want to give the King even more reason to dislike him and, by correlation, you. "Actually, I don't know if my friend would appreciate me giving his name." The King rose a single brow in question.

"That is understandable, I suppose. I just hope you are choosing your friends well. It is a dangerous world down here. People lie to get ahead. Did you consider that your friend might be giving you a false impression of me for some reason?" You cocked your head at the doubt being implanted into you.

"Yeah, that could be. It's just as likely that you're lying as well. I don't mean that rudely. If we're generally speaking, either possibility could be true," You bounced lightly on your heels as you spoke. "I prefer to think that neither of you is lying, though. Maybe there's just a misunderstanding somewhere in there." The King's earlier amusement became apparent on his face once more.

"That's awfully optimistic of you. I hope that is the case." He looked behind him and began walking back into the lighted hall. "Why don't we take this talk somewhere brighter? I feel like criminal talking in the dark like this." You began to follow in his steps but soon faltered. If you stepped into the light, it was almost guaranteed that he would see what type of monster you were. Doing so would be the ultimate test of Flowey's warning. As a testament to your earlier words, you began to walk forward once more. Upon reaching where the King stood, you pulled your hood down to fully expose your face.

His eyes widened in slight surprise as he took in your features. "How did you get into this section of the underground?" He suddenly changed the conversation. "I suspected it before, but now I'm convinced. There's no way that a boss monster, and an omega one at that, could have hidden in the ruins for so long. I would have found out." He didn't seem to be threatening you with his words. They were a simple statement.

"I fell?" You felt a bit stupid saying it. In all truth, you knew how unlikely it must've sounded. "I'm from the surface. My friend, the one I mentioned earlier, didn't believe me at first either. I was actually searching for the rest of monsterkind. I guess that's a mission success!" You smiled slightly as your intonation turned more joyful.

"It is not unheard of," he commented. "Falling down here, anyway. It has happened before. However, I do not think that I have ever met a monster that has fallen down here." His eyes glazed over for a slight second as he seemed to consider something that his eyes couldn't see. A moment later, life returned to his expression and he continued. "You must be sorely confused at the state of things down here."

"Hmm, my friend explained it a bit. Kill or be killed. All that stuff. To be honest, I don't care if it's as bad as he says. I prefer the chance of having friends, even if I might die for it." Asgore's eyes traced your entire body for any indication of a lie. After a moment, he seemed to give up and looked back to you.

"I'm afraid that you might find a shortage of friends down here as well." He spoke somberly. "The best you can hope for down here is safety."

"I haven't been here long, but I disagree. I've only been conscious down here for a few short hours, and I've already made two friends. You and Fl- my other friend," you cut yourself off from saying his name just in time. "Even if neither of you considers me to be a friend yet, I'll make it happen eventually." Asgore regarded you with a mixture of skepticism and amusement.

"If you would like, I can consider you a friend." A squeak of joy escaped you at his declaration. "You should be warned that making friends is not as easy as it has been so far. It is quite dangerous in fact." His eyes turned a bit softer than when you first met him. Even if it wasn't by a great amount yet, he seemed to enjoy your company.

"That's fine. Everyone loves a good redemption arc anyway!" Asgore's bellowing laugh sounded out from your goofy mannerisms and was soon joined by your own. "Since we're officially friends now, you should call me Tiny. It's what everyone, that being a very small pool of people, calls me."

"How about you come with me to my house? I can bake you a cinnamon butterscotch pie in celebration of our friendship," Asgore smiled a toothy grin, showing off his pointed teeth. Even though you genuinely liked the goat monster, something about his appearance made you nervous. If he didn't seem so cordial, you would have thought that he was slightly unhinged. Trying to shake off your prejudice, you nodded back.

"That sounds nice. My only issue is I wanted to talk to my other friend. He's probably still nearby. If you tell me how to get there, I could meet you in a bit?" You looked up to Asgore hopefully.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Wondering around these ruins are extremely dangerous. Most people here will attack you for no good reason. It is best if I accompany you." As if to leave no room for debate, Asgore began forward. He took slow, ambling steps. Even so, your significantly smaller legs struggled to keep pace.

"I'm just worried that he may get the wrong impression from me walking off with you." You scrambled to catch up to his side. "He explicitly told me that you were dangerous. I don't want him to take this to mean that I think he was lying. Like I said before, I think there's a misunderstanding." Asgore sighed while keeping his gaze forward.

"Your consideration for his thoughts is admirable, but I fear it may be misplaced. We can wait for sometime when I can go with you to meet him. That way, I can intervene should he try anything." Asgore's brows creased slightly as he continued through the ruins.

"He seemed like he was afraid of you though..." You trailed off dejectedly. The two of you walked in silence for a minute or two. It gave you the chance to take in your surroundings. You were currently in a wide room. Dry, wilted petals dotted the path that you and Asgore took. They appeared to be very old, though you couldn't estimate their exact age. There were just enough to tell that Asgore was following the path they created, but otherwise, they were scarcely placed. Additionally, the floor looked like you could fall through at any misstep, but Asgore navigated the two of you through it expertly. You tested your theory by crouching down and brushing your hand against a particularly precarious-looking spot. The ground below your hand felt odd. It was the texture of sand and could be displaced like it too. No matter how far down you stuck your hand, you couldn't find a bottom. You attempted to pull back out your hand and were met with great resistance. It was odd though, it wasn't that you weren't pulling hard. It was like you couldn't pull on your hand at all. "Umm, Asgore? I think my hand is stuck?" You looked forward to see that Asgore had already cleared most of the room. At your call, he turned around, in a great swirling of his black robe, and looked down at you.

"This is what I mean by the ruins are dangerous. That is called soul sand. Anything with a soul that falls into it loses all ability to move. It quite literally sucks all your magic from you. I have never measured it, but the soul sand in this room is quite deep too. Anyone that does not follow the path could easily fall in and perish." Now having reached you, he crouched down and gently pulled your hand free. "I scattered all these rose petals around the room a long time ago. I found the path by observing where they were sucked in and where they were not," he explained the existence of the petals.

You observed your hand now that it was free. It was covered in the sand from the ground. On closer inspection, the sand seemed to glitter in a similar way to dust, like it was mixed in. You shuddered in thought of the implications of that. The two of you continued forward for a little while more, passing a few more obstacles.

"I can agree to that, but only if you promise not to hurt him," you suddenly spoke up again after a long bout of silence. "By that, I mean what you said earlier about wanting to meet with my friend. You have to promise not to hurt him in any way." You took on a serious composure.

"And if he endangers you or hurts you? Am I still not to protect you, even if it means I hurt him?" Asgore's eyes met yours, his expression just as meaningful.

"We can defend ourselves! I'm not saying that we should act stupid! I just don't want to hurt him. I don't want to, uhm," you struggled to speak further. You tisked at your inability to even say the word dust. You hated even talking about taking another monster's life. Giving up on it, you continued with your point, "He doesn't seem like a bad person." Asgore's gaze swiftly left yours as if blinded. A frown grew large on his muzzle.

"I think it is extremely foolish, but I have a feeling that you would meet this friend with or without me. I'd rather it be with me. If this is the only way-"

"It is," you cut him off. Your eyelights shined a bright green in conviction.

"Then I will agree." He finished with no regard for your interruption. "You have no sense of self-preservation," he mumbled in disdain. "It's okay, you'll learn soon enough," he added in a near mumble. You knew that he would be upset by your deal. That was no surprise. What you were confused about was when he started to laugh quietly. It was completely different from the jovial, booming laughs you had heard earlier. This laugh was off-putting and sent small shivers down your spine. "I guess that is what comes with childlike innocence. You remind me of someone that I knew a very long time ago." He held a paw up to his muzzle, effectively silencing his snickering. You weren't sure what to make of his behavior. You elected to ignore it.

Asgore halted all movement right in front of you, causing you to bump into his broad back harmlessly. You looked up to the back of his head. Your brows quirked in confusion. "What's the hold-up?" You moved to peak around him, but he uttered a quick hush.

"Stay behind me," he breathed out in a whisper. Not wanting to tick him off anymore than you already had, you followed his request. You strained your ears, or lack thereof, to figure out the situation, and were met with... snoring? "Stay far back. I am going to get him to move." Without even looking back to you, Asgore moved towards the source of the snoring.

If he had moved away from you, you rationalized that it would be okay to peak at what all the commotion was. As Asgore moved farther away, you were able to see around him. In a bed of dried rose petals, no more than mulch at this point, laid an interesting looking monster. They were a translucent purple, giving the ground beneath them a plum tint. They seemed to have a bulge on their head, roughly the shape of bangs, that covered one of their eyes. Even with their eyes closed, you could see that the round black shape winged into a cat-eye effect. Asgore approached the cartoonish ghost monster cautiously. "Hapstablook, I have told you to leave the ruins countless times," he growled to the ghost.

Even though you could easily imagine it, you had never seen Asgore act directly aggressive. Was this ghost really enough to warrant his concern? In nervousness for the progression of this interaction, you slipped the hood of your cloak over your skull and pulled the lengths of it shut around your body. Your eye lights dimmed to nothing more than soft glows in the caverns of your eyes as you observed Asgore and the ghost, who Asgore called Hapstablook.

"I don't know if you noticed, _darling_ ," Hapstablook said the nickname especially bitterly, "but, I am currently asleep." To accent himself, he let out an audible snore. Despite his eyes remaining closed, his face seemed to scrunch smaller in irritation. A thundering growl sounded from Asgore, one that made you shiver in fear. You knew that it wasn't aimed at you, but it still got to your nerves. Hapstablook ignored the sound, his face scrunching further. Just when you thought this interaction was about to go nowhere, his eyes shot open and he floated into an upright position.

"Why didn't you say you had company?" He ignored Asgore who towered over and looked around to your form which was canopied in your cloak. "She seems scared too. I bet it was your grumpy self that made it that way." Hapstablook tutted as he slipped between Asgore and moved towards you. When Asgore turned around, he looked absolutely irate. He moved closer to you and the nearing monster to observe the situation.

"Leave her alone. I am done with your silly little games. Leave this place." Asgore snarled in a quiet voice.

"You're just mad because you can't dust me like the rest of your problems!" Hapstablook laughed at Asgore's expression. Was he getting closer to you just to get a rise out of the goat monster? You tilted your head to the side in question of his wording.

"What do you mean by that?" You quietly asked Hapstablook. You didn't want to do anything that might provoke Asgore further, which stopped you from greeting the ghost with enthusiasm as you wanted.

"What part of my wording are you confused about? I thought I was rather clear?" Hapstablook seemed genuinely confused about your own confusion. "He's mad because he can't dust me. You know, you can't dust a ghost monster, right? Simple as that. Isn't that right, _darling_?" He looked back to Asgore as he spoke darling, his voice gaining an oversaturated sweetness to it. "Anyway, that old grump is about the same as always, but who you are, little thing? You're so tiny and adorable! I could just eat you up!" Hapstablook floated in slow circles around you in examination. "And your cape is quite fashionable too. I especially like this little golden symbol on the back. Though, I'm not too sure what it is. Mind enlightening me?"

Who cared if Asgore got angrier? This ghost seemed friendly and you wanted to properly introduce yourself. You slipped down your hood and turned to face the ghost with a slight smile. You gave him your name with enthusiasm before continuing with, "but you can just call me Tiny. Also, I'm not too sure. It was my dad's cape." Asgore was quick to stop the interaction. He stepped between the two of your with an angered expression. His wide form and cape effectively blocked you from the view of Hapstablook. His arm raised and lit up as something seemed to ignite within his palm. Was he attacking Hapstablook?! Before you could react, the flame within his hand shot out and passed harmlessly through the ghost. Hapstablook expelled a loud chuckle.

"Please, just leave," he requested with exasperation filling his tone. You peaked around his arm just in time to see Hapstablook do the same as you. The ghost gave you an overdramatized wink and floated back to your side.

"Awe, have you found a new little plaything? Are you trying to protect this little skeleton monster? Honestly, I'd love to dust her just to see how angry it'd make you, but it'd be so much more interesting if I left her alone. Imagine all the drama if she made it into the rest of the underground!" Your eyes widened slightly at Hapstablook. He was talking so casually about all this. It felt wrong. You could now see what Asgore meant when he spoke of the state of the underground.

You felt a strong revulsion to all the talk of dusting that he brought with him. "I'd prefer if you didn't talk about me while I'm right here," you pointedly commented towards Hapstablook.

"She's feisty too! That's adorable. Well, I'm sure that she'll get bored of this _dusty_ , old place in no time and end up in Snowdin. I don't want to argue with the grump anymore. I prefer to watch the drama, not be in it. Ta-ta till next time!" Your eyelights met Hapstablook's round eyes with defiance. Hapstablook flipped his hair to add to his little performance before phasing through the ground.

You stared at the ground that he had disappeared into, half expecting him to show up again. After looking long enough to be convinced he wouldn't, you turned back to face Asgore. "What was all that about?" To emphasize your point, your hand flared toward the ground that Hapstablook had left through.

"I wish I knew what inspires that cretin to do what he does," was all the explanation Asgore had before he continued down the corridor. As much as Asgore might want it to be, what Hapstablook said was not lost on you. He called you Asgore's new plaything, stated that Asgore wanted to dust him, and even implied that it was something that Asgore did often. None of that sat well with you. You observed Asgore as his form retreated behind a turn. You wanted so badly to trust him. He had yet to do anything to outright hurt you. He actively tried to protect you. It makes the most sense for you to trust him, so why did something feel so amiss? Disregarding your judgment for what felt like the nth time that day, you scurried to catch up to Asgore.

Asgore continued now at a faster pace than before. You were practically jogging to keep up. You noticed a few small frog monsters on the sides of the halls as you both rushed through but didn't stop in fear of losing Asgore. "Can we slow down? Your legs are literally as tall as my entire body! I can't keep up," you huffed while jogging by his side. Your cloak swished behind you, dragging along the ground as you ran. He ignored you for a few good minutes, but eventually conceded and returned to a slower pace.

"I just want to be rid of all this quickly. My patience for all these monsters is drawing thin." You noticed his fists clench in your peripheral. You peered at him with concern.

"You sure you want me to come with you? I can let you have some time to chill if you need it." You fiddled with your cloak while speaking. Had you pushed him too far without realizing it? You hadn't ever interacted in detail with anyone but your father. You mentally berated yourself for trying to befriend the ghost earlier; it made your current friend, Asgore, angry. He stopped fully and crouched to your height. His paw rested on your shoulder as he began to speak reassuringly.

"No, I'd still like you to come with me. If anything, you calm me down. You're unlike the rest of this place, untouched by all the evil. I'm sorry if I made you concerned." At that, he stood again and continued forward. You were left puzzled. The changing of his mood was beginning to give you whiplash. You had no idea how to predict it. "We're almost there," Asgore added as he continued.

Looking around, you realized that you and Asgore had cleared several rooms during his hurry. You were currently in the fourth room that appeared pretty much the same as the past three. It had three large columns and three different colored levels hidden behind. You weren't exactly sure what was going on, but Asgore cleared the final version of the room with ease. A hallway later, the two of you were standing before a brick house that must belong to Asgore.

Arriving at the door, Asgore began to methodically go down the chain of locks. Each one required either a different password or a different key. It would have taken you ages to open the door, even with all the passcodes and keys. Asgore, however, took a mere minute. It was impressive to watch, as unnecessary as it all seemed. "Please, come in." Asgore held the door open for you with a slight grin. You trotted in front of the large monster, excited to see the interior of his home.

Upon entering, a warm glow of various candles revealed the room to you. Some were held up by stands. Some connected to the walls. They gave the house rich yellow lighting. You tilted your head slightly, wondering about the logic behind leaving so many candles unattended whenever Asgore wasn't home. The house itself seemed to be in slight disrepair. It didn't seem uncared for, perse. It seemed more like it had been through a lot. Small chips broke the wooded floor in various spots. Some boards of wood were completely different colors from the original flooring, signaling that they had been replaced at some point. The painted wall looked bloated and dark in some spots like it had suffered flood damage of some sort.

Then, your attention drew to the various sections of the wall with writing. Small doodles had been made in crayon. They all were placed close to the ground. Your brain concluded that a child had made them at some point. One drawing depicted two poorly drawn goat monsters standing with two children. One appeared to be a goat monster, if its half-grown horns were anything to go by, and the other looked like a human. Other drawings appeared to be various objects like flowers, stars, and even random circles. It was all kind of endearing to you.

Asgore cleared his throat by the now closed and locked door. It drew your attention back to him before you could inspect the furniture in the room. "Sorry to distract you from your musings, but I am sure that you are tired. I can show you somewhere to rest while I bake the pie?" He asked, giving you the option to agree. You did with a small nod.

"Sure, that sounds nice. Your house is very homey." His eyes followed your gaze to all the drawings on the wall. He rubbed the back of his neck in slight embarrassment.

"Sorry, I know it is a little decrepit. Those are drawings from my children, and I am a sentimental man. I could never bring myself to scrub them away." A dusting of red covered his furry cheeks as he spoke.

"Oh, no, sorry!" You frantically tried to clear the misunderstanding. You remembered back to the story Flowey gave you about the King's children. Now, you just felt mortified. "I wasn't meaning that in a bad way. I meant that it feels loved. It has character. I think it's nice. It's sort of like my home. My dad kept lots of stuff like that too," you rambled on. You weren't sure how else to put it, so you eventually gave up. You looked up to him apologetically.

His blush was exchanged for a sincere smile. "I'm glad you like it. Please follow me," at that, he began into the hallway. He led you to a small bedroom. Interestingly enough, it seemed like the candles in it glowed orange, contrasting the yellow tinted ones of the hall. At this point, you could only explain the lighting through Asgore's magic. "Feel free to rest on the bed while you wait. There are also clothes in the dresser should you wish to change your apparel. I will be back before long." He brushed a furry paw over your head in a display of affection before departing. Once he had left the room, the candles dimmed to a soft glow that was more suitable for sleeping.

Following his instruction, you went to the dresser. You had been wearing the same homemade fur vest and pants for a while now. They were beginning to feel a little grimy. A change of clothes would do you some good. In the dresser, there was a surprising amount of variety. You found just about every size in existence, a few even had the humans' tags that indicated their brand. Oddly enough, almost all of them had stripes of some type. The only outliers were the ones that were manufactured by humans. You couldn't really figure out any reason for the obsession over stripes.

You had to wonder where Asgore attained so many different clothes. You could only assume that these belonged to his children at some point, which made you feel a little uneasy about wearing them. You guessed it was okay if Asgore said so. You settled on an olive green sweater with lime stripes. It matched your eyelights' color well. For your pants, you went with a pleated black skirt. You never had the pleasure of wearing girly things since all your clothes were homemade. You weren't sure if the skirt would be comfortable compared to your pants, but you were excited to try a skirt for the first time nonetheless. You liked the way that they hugged your curves, unlike your previous clothing.

These clothes accented the slight raise in your hips and chest. You could also see the soft green glow of the pseudo-skin around your legs because of the skirt's shortness. Your ecto-body was always summoned. You didn't do it consciously, like most other skeleton monsters. It was always there. Your dad always thought it was strange, but you both came to believe that it was because you were an omega. Your body was more physically vulnerable than most, so you subconsciously made up for it with the small defense that your ecto-body provided.

Once you had admired your borrowed clothes for a suitable amount of time, you prepared for bed. Before, you hadn't thought about it so the weariness of the past events didn't hit you. Now, you were reminded that you never got a full night's sleep by the present heaviness of your limbs. It wasn't long after you settled into bed that sleep found you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys think that there's more to Asgore than it seems? Is he or Flowey to be trusted? Lol, I'm interested what impressions they have left on y'all so far. Let me know with a comment below if you'd like. Also, I don't think that the Hapstablook in my story follows how he's traditionally done in swapfell, but I hope you guys still like him.

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest, I don't know how consistent I'll be with updating this. Lord knows I already have other fics I've been neglecting. Still, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to leave a comment with anything you want or nothing at all.


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